Advertisement

Sports

A day without sports: A peek inside the lives of D-FW figures like Rick Carlisle, Chuck Morgan and more during coronavirus

Find out what coaches, athletes and more are up to during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

Anyone miss sports?

SportsDay’s staff writers spoke with figures from all kinds of sports about how their daily routines and lives have been impacted by the COVID-19 coronavirus. You’ll be able to get an inside peek at the lives of the people listed below:

  • Rick Carlisle, Mavericks head coach
  • Chuck Morgan, Rangers PA announcer
  • Moriah Jefferson, Wings guard
  • Fernando Lovo, Texas football chief of staff
  • Kelli Finglass, Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders director
  • Derrick James, boxing trainer
  • Pat Eitel, Forney softball coach
  • Robert Singletary, Grapevine Golf Course head professional
  • Marc Andres, Rangers superfan
  • Neil Graham, Texas Stars head coach
  • Mike McCord, Cowboys equipment manager
Advertisement
Rick Carlisle on a recent Zoom call in his home office with Mark Cuban, Donnie Nelson,...
Rick Carlisle on a recent Zoom call in his home office with Mark Cuban, Donnie Nelson, players and Mavericks staff. (Courtesy / Rick Carlisle)(Supplied photo)
Sports Roundup

Get the latest D-FW sports news, analysis, scores and more.

Or with:

Rick Carlisle, Mavericks head coach

As someone who thrives on routine, Rick Carlisle’s daily rhythms during the NBA’s suspension have changed — only to then stay the same.

Advertisement

The Mavericks coach started Wednesday on a Zoom meeting with the team’s players, training staff and internist to discuss protocols for reopening the practice facility for limited workouts.

At 1 p.m. he joined 125 head and assistant NBA coaches on another Zoom call for a Q&A with Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, who discussed the impact of race as a sports leader.

Carlisle, the National Basketball Coaches Association president, then talked with other organization leaders to debrief Tomlin’s session — part of the NBA Coaches Equality Initiative — and to prepare for Phil Jackson’s next month.

Advertisement

Later: Carlisle exercised at home and watched Mavericks film.

Had the pandemic not forced the NBA to pause its season March 11 — in the middle of Mavericks-Nuggets — Carlisle might now be in the midst of draft prep.

Or still leading the Mavericks, with their first playoff berth since 2016, on an upset postseason tear.

Instead, Carlisle’s new routine features virtual meetings, team-specific preparation for a hopeful resumption and some extra family time, including a highlight last week when his daughter, Abby, passed her driver’s test.

“The time has just flown,” Carlisle said. “Regardless of your situation, everybody in our profession finds a routine, a way to try to make themselves better and engage their ability to learn.”

— Callie Caplan

ARLINGTON, TX - MAY 27:  Chuck Morgan, the public address announcer for the Texas Rangers...
ARLINGTON, TX - MAY 27: Chuck Morgan, the public address announcer for the Texas Rangers sits in his booth at Globe Life Field on Wednesday, May 27, 2020 in Arlington, Texas.(Kelly Gavin / MLB Photos via Getty Images)

Chuck Morgan, Rangers PA announcer

Chuck Morgan should have spent Wednesday on the brink of extending his streak to 3,000 consecutive MLB games.

Advertisement

Morgan began the year having manned the public address microphone at 2,972 MLB games over 39 years for the Rangers (and one year in Kansas City). Thursday, the conclusion of a series with the Washington Nationals, was to be the Rangers 28th home game of the season and No. 3,000.

Moments like these in his literal little bubble, the glass enclosed PA booth behind home plate that was designed to allow him to interact more with fans, that serve as stark reminders of his surreal situation.

“My life has always been ruled by the baseball schedule,” Morgan said as he left Globe Life Field at 5:45 p.m. Wednesday. “And now, that’s just not the case. We want to show this beautiful park off so badly and we’re not yet able to do it.”

Morgan spent Wednesday recording announcements to help regulate traffic at the slew of socially distant high school graduation ceremonies that will be the first events at the stadium. He prepared another throwback dot race — his own invention from the 1980s — to air on social media channels. He spent more time trying to think through how to present in-game entertainment this season, knowing full well there may be no fans present to watch.

Advertisement

“The players will be our ‘crowd’,” he said. “So we are trying to come up with things that they will be most interested in. And I want to make sure the Rangers feel at home.”

— Evan Grant

Dallas Wings Moriah Jefferson poses for a portrait near her home in Frisco, on Wednesday,...
Dallas Wings Moriah Jefferson poses for a portrait near her home in Frisco, on Wednesday, May 27, 2020. (Vernon Bryant / Staff Photographer)

Moriah Jefferson, Wings guard

Since the pandemic started, Moriah Jefferson has moved around to different Airbnbs on a monthly basis. The Dallas Wings guard, who is from DeSoto, wants to be closer to her training facility when it opens.

Advertisement

In the meantime, she purchased a regulation style hoop at Walmart so she could practice in the driveway. On Wednesday, the former No. 2 overall pick hoped to get into the gym — the Mamba Sports Academy — for the first time so she could ditch the makeshift setup.

“It’s basically old-school hoops, when you’re a kid,” Jefferson said. “I just had to get work in anyway I could.”

She didn’t end up playing in the gym. But her move to Frisco this week coincides with the hope that they’ll be able to get her into play by the end of May.

It’s tough, though, to stay sharp on the concrete. And it’s tough, too, to stay ready for a WNBA season that was supposed to start on May 15, but is currently in a holding pattern.

Advertisement

Jefferson said she’s in communication with the Players Association, and has a couple zoom calls a week with her team, but doesn’t know more than the public.

“We really aren’t getting that much information,” Jefferson said. “… I’ve been training like the season’s going to start tomorrow.”

Other leagues are readying return plans, and it’s likely the WNBA is working through scenarios.

And hopefully, one of the best Dallas-born players of this generation will be able to trade in concrete for hardwood and play for her hometown team.

Advertisement

— Sam Blum

Nov 10, 2012; Austin, TX, USA; A general view of the Texas Longhorns logo on the field in...
Nov 10, 2012; Austin, TX, USA; A general view of the Texas Longhorns logo on the field in honor of former head coach Darrell Royal (not pictured) before a game against the Iowa State Cyclones at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.(Brett Davis-US PRESSWIRE - US PRESSWIRE)

Fernando Lovo, Texas football chief of staff

After three seasons at Texas as Tom Herman’s chief of staff, Fernando Lovo knew the job by heart as a “creature of habit.”

Advertisement

Then came COVID-19 and everything changed.

“It’s almost like playing a game of Whac-a-Mole,” Lovo said. “You knock one down and the next one pops up.”

Days like Wednesday were part of the long road back. Lovo was working something akin to a normal day in his athletic office as he has for two weeks. The idea of players returning to campus June 15 providing a sense of normalcy.

In-person meetings with staff and coaches has returned, albeit with required facial coverings and social distancing. During his two months in lockdown, Lovo had to master Zoom and Microsoft Teams, computer programs he had barely heard of three months ago.

Advertisement

Other things are on hold like planning fall football travel with airlines’ charter flights and hotels. Those conversations are on either on hold or far different. Good luck finding a hotel buffet for a football team.

Instead of as many as 70 recruits at a Saturday spring practice, Texas has compiled video of things like the Tower and the union.

At least Lobo is less likely to have a misadventure like one video conference from his master bedroom. In the next room, his wife Jordan was giving his 10-month-old son Liam a bath.

“We’re in the middle of a pretty important call and a pretty intense conversation and all of a sudden my wife appeared from the bathroom door with my son without his diaper screaming and yelling,” Lovo said. “My staff got a little show from my son, Liam.”

Advertisement

— Chuck Carlton

Kelli Finglass.
Kelli Finglass.(Courtesy Kelli Finglass)

Kelli Finglass, Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders director

Country Music Television cameras are scattered on the field at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. Dozens of Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders hopefuls perform the squad's choreography and kick line, as judges scrutinize.

Advertisement

Kelli Finglass is in her 30th year as DCC director. She oversees the event while wearing a dress and heels, her hair and makeup professionally done.

This is what the second round of tryouts would have looked like on Wednesday.

“How that’s going right now is I’m at home in my pajamas,” Finglass said with a laugh, “judging from my laptop. It’s actually awesome.”

The process to assemble the 60th squad in DCC history is unlike any before it. Rather than all congregate, candidates uploaded dance videos onto a proprietary application platform, which the DCC aggressively developed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Advertisement

Typically, Finglass and head choreographer Judy Trammell have about 400 or 500 applicants to evaluate before the second round.

This year’s digital total exceeded 1,500.

“It’s almost this brush of small-town USA,” Finglass said. “I’ve viewed people submitting dances from their garage, from a firehouse, from their bedrooms, from parking lots, from bridges. It’s been amazing. One girl from Maryland has cows in her background. ...We’re getting to see these backstories literally in their background.

“One girl, I think, was in a public restroom and somebody flushed during her song, and that was a little unfortunate.”

Advertisement

Sixty-eight candidates remained as of Wednesday, not including potential returners from last year’s team. Those 68 were sent a video of a routine, which they had to record themselves performing and submit to the site.

The 2020 squad is expected to carry 36 members.

“Our plans are to move forward with the show (the 15h season of ‘Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team’), and our plans are to be ready for the football season,” Finglass said. “That’s the momentum that we’re working with.”

— Michael Gehlken

Advertisement
Boxer Errol Spence Jr. works out with trainer Derrick James at R&R Boxing Club in Dallas on...
Boxer Errol Spence Jr. works out with trainer Derrick James at R&R Boxing Club in Dallas on Friday, December 22, 2017. (Louis DeLuca / Staff Photographer)

Derrick James, boxing trainer

Derrick James normally is at work by 6 a.m. He’s a personal trainer at Cooper Fitness Center, where he has 20-plus clients including former Mavericks owner Ross Perot Jr.

The coronavirus pandemic has James following a different routine. He wakes up and jogs, instead of heading to Cooper Fitness Center. James has two jobs: He’s a full-time personal trainer and is considered one of the best boxing trainers in his sport. James, The Ring magazine’s 2017 trainer of the year, trains DeSoto’s Errol Spence, the WBC and IBF welterweight champion. So life for James was busy. But the pandemic has slowed his life down.

Advertisement

Cooper Fitness Center closed March 17, so now James just leaves his house to go jogging in the morning and then conducts one-on-one workouts with Spence at his personal gym, Derrick James World Class Boxing Gym.

“You get accustomed to staying in the house a little longer,” James said. “Now I’m leaving at 7 a.m. I’m not as busy as I was before. Schedule has calmed down, it’s OK.”

James would work from 6 a.m. to noon, and after lunch he would take care of the fighters starting at 2 p.m. to sometimes as late at midnight. He also traveled across the country with Spence for his fights along with other boxers he trained. With boxing on the shelf, the only traveling James does now is from his house to his personal gym.

Some businesses have opened as restrictions in Dallas County have eased. Cooper Fitness Center re-opened last week and James is back at work. Some clients are getting workouts at their own homes, and James safely conducts those sessions. As for his own gym, James has plans to open it up on a limited basis June 1. Spence is James’ top client and he’s just getting back into shape after a horrific car accident last year. And soon, some young fighters will be heading back to ply their trade.

Advertisement

Anything is better than what it’s been.

“My day-to-day is me working out myself,” James said. “I’m able to train Errol and before I was able to work a full-time job. We’ve been away since March, so I was just focused on working out Errol for about two months. Now we’re coming back.”

— Calvin Watkins

Forney High School's head softball coach Pat Eitel poses for a portrait in the dugout of...
Forney High School's head softball coach Pat Eitel poses for a portrait in the dugout of Forney High School's softball field in Forney, on Wednesday, May 27, 2020. (Vernon Bryant / Staff Photographer)
Advertisement

Pat Eitel, Forney softball coach

Pat Eitel is spending his days making trips to Lowe’s Home Improvement, playing golf in Crandall and taking online classes to obtain a Master’s degree.

Wednesday afternoon, Forney’s softball coach was going to begin the task that no son wants to undertake — cleaning out the house of a parent who passed away. Eitel’s father, Wayne, an avid softball fan and one of his son’s biggest supporters, died of a heart attack at the age of 84 last week.

Eitel, 57, has seen his daily routine change drastically since the UIL canceled spring sports on April 17 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Advertisement

Had sports never shut down, Forney would likely have been playing in the regional finals this week — one step away from a third straight trip to the state tournament. A senior-laden team was 15-2 and ranked No. 25 in the nation by MaxPreps, and it owned wins over nationally ranked Mont Belvieu Barbers Hill (No. 4 in America) and 2019 Class 6A state semifinalist Keller.

“Getting stir-crazy,” Eitel said. “It’s a weird time for us coaches. This is the time of the year where we’re usually busy. We don’t come in until late from games. There is the pressure of the playoffs, and the excitement.

“Now it has turned into get a bunch of stuff done at the house. ... But you can only do so much of that.”

With no practices or games, Eitel and his wife/assistant coach, Michelle, now have time to remodel their house and go back to school. Both are working toward a Master’s in administration from Lamar University that would allow them to pursue jobs as an athletic director or coordinator should those opportunities arise down the road.

Advertisement

“We’ve had quite a few trips to Lowe’s,” Eitel said. “Through this whole thing, Lowe’s is packed. Everybody is trying to find something to do.”

— Greg Riddle

Since reopening, the range ball baskets soak in bleach water to prevent coronavirus spread...
Since reopening, the range ball baskets soak in bleach water to prevent coronavirus spread at Grapevine Golf Course in Grapevine, Texas, Wednesday, May 27 2020.(Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)

Robert Singletary, Grapevine Golf Course head professional

Grapevine Golf Course’s bustling parking lot is the first sign on this idyllic weekday morning that golf might be the coronavirus era’s least-affected sport.

Advertisement

At least, that is, for us everyday hackers.

“I think people were ready to get outside,” said Robert Singletary, Grapevine Golf Course’s sixth-year head professional. “Golf is a good thing to do. If we behave properly and stay a safe distance apart, sunshine and fresh air is healthy.”

According to the National Golf Foundation, 97% of America’s courses were open as of May 24, compared to 44% on April 5.

Here in Grapevine, Singletary and director of golf Russell Pulley oversaw revamping between the course’s March 13 closure and April 28 re-opening.

Advertisement

Safety shields at the front counter. Masks for clubhouse employees. No more than four customers allowed in the clubhouse at a time and 50-percent capacity in the restaurant.

On the course, players must putt with the flagstick in, into a shallowed hole for easy retrieval. No bunker rakes or sand buckets. Ball washers and water fountains have been covered.

One rider per cart unless riding with a member of the same household. To get practice balls, players retrieve baskets from a tub filled with a bleach and water mixture.

Grapevine Golf Course’s 27-hole tract averages 65,000 rounds per year, and Singletary says rounds for this month are slightly above last May’s figures.

Advertisement

Grapevine police occasionally check the parking lot to ensure social distancing measures are being followed. Golfers are adapting. Most quickly settle their bets, say brief goodbyes and head home.

— Brad Townsend

(L-R) Louis, Marc And Miles Andres on Sept. 29, 2019, the final game at Globe Life Park....
(L-R) Louis, Marc And Miles Andres on Sept. 29, 2019, the final game at Globe Life Park. (Courtesy Marc Andres)(Supplied photo)

Marc Andres, Rangers superfan

Does the name Sam Thompson ring a bell? The odds are against it, but to the baseball-nerd lifer with the four Globe Life Park seats in the backyard, Thompson might’ve been the difference between winning and losing — that, and a case of too much meddling.

Advertisement

“I’ve lost several nights of sleep over that,” said Marc Andres. “I would not be a good manager in real life.”

But on this Wednesday night, starting around 10 p.m., just like pretty much every other night during the week, he’s the manager of a STRAT-O-MATIC team, a baseball board game turned virtual simulator for the nerdiest of baseball nerds. Thompson, with his .415 batting average in 1894, missed 23 games in a 25-game span during the simulation, dooming Andres’ chances. His second best player, Pete Rose, couldn’t carry the load.

The game has been a baseball fix during this time for Andres. He went to Dallas-Fort Worth Spurs games as a kid before the Rangers came to town in 1972. He bought season tickets in 1994 and has had them ever since. His son, Louis, went to the first game at Globe Life Park when he was 3 months old.

This summer he was supposed to break in his new seats at Globe Life Field. Without that, at least he’s had STRAT-O-MATIC. A new simulated season starts soon.

Advertisement

— Joseph Hoyt

AUSTIN, TX - OCTOBER 04: Texas Stars assistant coach Neil Graham watches action during 5 - 4...
AUSTIN, TX - OCTOBER 04: Texas Stars assistant coach Neil Graham watches action during 5 - 4 game against the Tucson Roadrunners on October 04, 2019, at the HEB Center in Cedar Park, TX.(John Rivera/Icon Sportswire / AP)

Neil Graham, Texas Stars head coach

Neil Graham has had quite the year.

Advertisement

He took on two new jobs — first as an assistant coach for Stars AHL affiliate Texas, then as the head coach in Texas. He moved from Boise, Idaho to Austin. The coronavirus pandemic ended Texas’ playoff push. And his wife Meghan gave birth to his son Rhett two days before the AHL season was suspended on March 12.

“We were joking: before, we were on the power play,” Graham said. “We outnumbered him 2 to 1. If Meg was taking him for a scooter ride or something like that, I had a chance to prep dinner or relax. Now, it’s an even situation so the game plan has to be a little different.”

Instead of potentially coaching playoff hockey at this time, Graham has spent his days like many people around the country during the pandemic. On this Wednesday, he’s up at 6 a.m. trying to keep his nearly 4-year-old son Rylan busy, and slipping in video conferences between playtime and naps.

“Trying to keep the boys tired more than anything,” said Graham, who is one of the few Texas Stars employees who is not currently furloughed. “Let them burn some energy, do some neighborhood scooting, go to the field and play baseball and golf, anywhere where it’s just my son and I, try to get him tired.”

Advertisement

Graham and his two assistants in Texas held video meetings on their systems, reviewing the season and picking up tendencies they would have otherwise not seen during the regular season. They spoke to four or five players a day about strengths and weaknesses. They’ve also met regularly with Dallas’ coaching staff to go over systems and prospects.

— Matthew DeFranks

Cowboys equipment manager Mike McCord.

16 December 2018:   Mike McCord      

of the Dallas...
Cowboys equipment manager Mike McCord. 16 December 2018: Mike McCord of the Dallas Cowboys during their NFL week 15 regular season 23-0 loss to the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. Photo by James D. Smith/Dallas Cowboys(Dallas Cowboys)

Mike McCord, Cowboys equipment manager

Mike McCord doesn’t like to deal with traffic. So he got up early, as he usually does, drove to The Star and walked into the training room a little after 5:30 a.m.

Advertisement

McCord’s day wasn’t as hectic as it was one year earlier, when the Cowboys had 90 or so players participating in a day of organized team activities. But the team’s equipment manager still had plenty to keep him busy.

May is usually a big month for deliveries of equipment for the upcoming season. But the Cowboys had gone nine days without receiving any shipments. The novel coronavirus has either stopped production or disrupted the supply chain, meaning items the club ordered back in October are sitting in a warehouse somewhere.

McCord spent much of the day contacting different vendors to check on the status of the club’s orders.

“Every team in the NFL is dealing with this,’’ McCord said. “We all order the same type of products.”

Advertisement

Part of the day was spent tracking down the gear used by some of the veterans the Cowboys signed in free agency. Andy Dalton is an example. The quarterback reached out to have the items in his locker in Cincinnati shipped to Frisco, something that couldn’t be done until the Bengals were cleared to return to their building.

McCord and others meet to discuss how their procedures and responsibilities could change when the players do return. He continues to organize and store equipment on the chance the team will fly to Southern California for training camp, knowing the team could decide to stay in Frisco.

“You still have to plan to get ready that you will go,” he said.

Then there’s laundry. About 12 players are allowed at the facility for rehab.

Advertisement

It’s not nearly as time consuming as what took place on this day one year ago — McCord and his staff spent three-and-a-half hours to wash and dry the 700 pounds of laundry during a typical OTA day — and explains why his day is reduced from 12 to eight hours when players aren’t practicing at The Star.

— David Moore

Advertisement

For more sports coverage from The Dallas Morning News, click here.

To view subscription options for The News and SportsDay, click here.